Castle's Chords
by CheerfulChemist
Summary: Post 705. Castle has infected vocal chords and isn't supposed to talk. He's trying to keep Alexis fron freaking out from overblown concern for him and also working on a murder with Kate. Someone shot the manager of a big box store. As usual I own nothing but am solidly addicted to these characters. I'll alert you to postings if you want to follow me on Twitter @CheerfulChemist
1. Chapter 1

Castle's Chords

Chapter 1

To Castle the book party seemed to go on forever. He had signed books until his shoulder ached and even the chilled champagne didn't make the room seem any cooler. Now it was time to take the podium to read to the expectant crowd. His head pounded and his throat was scratchy. "Alexis, do you have a cough drop or something?" he asked his daughter.

"Dad, are you sick?" Alexis asked in alarm.

"Hey, calm down," Castle soothed, regretting he'd asked. "My throat is a little dry, that's all."

"I have an Altoid," Alexis offered.

"That would be great," Castle told her. "Thank you."

Castle opened the book on the lectern and began to read. If anything, his voice seemed huskier than usual, which judging by the rapt attention of the women he could see in the first few rows, added a sexy edge to his performance. The mint had helped a little and he hoped he could finish without coughing his brains out. Managing to get through Rook's stunning words to Nikki, Castle left the stage as gracefully as he could to the tears and sniffles of his fans. Making his way to the bar, he requested water.

"Dad, you didn't sound good," Alexis worried, coming up behind him.

"Thank you," Castle croaked sarcastically.

Alexis reached up to feel her father's forehead. "Dad, I'm serious. I think you have a fever. We should go home."

"Alexis," Castle confided, "right now I would love to do just that, but my contract with Black Pawn says I stay until midnight and you know that Gina will extract every second. If you want to help, maybe you can go down to that little store they have off the hotel lobby and get me a couple of aspirin."

"I can do that," Alexis agreed.

Castle leaned against the bar as Alexis hurried off. Lately her attentions could best be described as smothering, but at that moment he was glad of them. He hoped that by the time he got home, Kate would be finished with the assignment that had kept her at the precinct and they could curl up together.

When Castle finally crawled into bed, Kate was already asleep and he didn't want to wake her, but appreciating the warm presence beside him, he sank wearily into the pillow.

Kate heard the buzz of the alarm in the morning. Turning it off she turned to Castle. "Hey," she called brushing his hair back from a sweaty forehead, "good morning."

Groaning awake, he tried to answer her, but his voice came in the feeblest of whispers. "Talked to too many worshiping fans, Castle?" she teased.

Castle shook his head and coughed. Kate tentatively stroked his cheek. "Castle, I think you're actually sick."

Kate could barely hear Castle's reply of, "Don't tell Alexis. She'll go nuts."

"Okay," Kate agreed. "I know how obsessive she's been, but I'm gonna get the thermometer."

Kate regarded the readout. "Not too bad, Castle, a hundred and one - not emergency room, but a trip to the doctor might not be a bad idea. Alexis is leaving early for school. She won't know. You have his number?" Castle silently reached for his phone, scrolled through his contacts and showed her the number. "It's early," Kate said. "Why don't you see if a shower makes you feel better and I'll make coffee. By then someone might actually answer the phone."

Castle nodded and Kate headed for the kitchen. He sat on the edge of the bed for a couple of minutes getting up the energy to head for the bathroom.

Kate saw the door close behind Alexis and found that a pot of coffee, minus a cup, was already sitting on the counter. She scrounged in the refrigerator for orange juice and warmed up a couple of croissant that had been stowed in the freezer. She had gotten through the front page of the paper when Castle emerged, robe wrapped securely around him. "Better?" she asked.

"A little," he answered, sounding like a rusty hinge.

"Right," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll make the call."

"Mr. Castle," Dr. Klein announced, with Kate in attendance, "your vocal chords are infected. Now I'm going to give you some antibiotics that should have you feeling better in a few days, but I don't want you to talk. So text, use your tablet, whatever you like, but I don't want you to utter a word for at least forty-eight hours, or more than that if you're still running a fever. Just nod if I make myself clear."

Castle nodded grudgingly while Kate did her best not to smile. "You don't laugh! You don't dare laugh!" Castle typed on his phone, putting it in front of her face.

"Castle, I am not laughing," Kate insisted, her eyes still mirthful. "You can probably download an app to talk for you anyway. You'll be fine."

"Alexis is going to find out," Castle typed.

"We'll keep her busy chasing potato chip fudge ice cream for you," Kate comforted.

"Won't work. Mother just got some." Castle typed.

"We'll think of something else - or we could tell her you're doing research for a book. Something happened to Rook's throat," Kate suggested.

Castle looked doubtful but tried to smile. "That might work. I've done stranger things."

This time Kate did laugh. "I know."

* * *

><p>Castle perused the contents of the files Kate brought home from the precinct. Someone had opened fire in front of a big box store. A manager who had just come out for a smoke had been killed and the shooter had escaped before police arrived. Witness accounts had varied, agreeing only that the shooter wore a hoodie and was black or hispanic. "Let me guess," he wrote on a yellow pad, "disgruntled employee?"<p>

"I don't know, Castle," Kate replied, "No one knew who it was. There was some security video of the parking lot. Ryan is scrubbing it to see if he can find anything. One witness saw someone take off in what he described as a high end SUV, maybe a Lexis. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a plate number."

"Unlikely to be a disgruntled employee then," Castle speculated. "No one who works at a big box store can afford a Lexis. Did the manager have any enemies?"

"We don't know yet, Castle," Kate reported. "His wife is listed as his next of kin and she was visiting relatives in L.A.. She's flying in and I can talk to her tomorrow. Ryan and Espo talked to the other employees, but they couldn't think of anyone. It was the old 'He kept to himself,' line."

"Ah," Castle wrote, "the description widely used for serial killers and computer hackers."

"Except that this guy was killed, not a killer," Kate responded, "and he didn't work with computers as far as anyone knew. He supervised toilet paper and all the other paper goods people buy by the year's worth. So what did you do today?"

"Besides suffering in my sick bed?" Castle penned.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Besides that."

"I was looking for sound apps for my phone," Castle explained, using his pad. "I tried to get it to talk for me, but it was too slow. Good old pencil and paper work better. I did find some really cool sound effects though. Want to hear?"

"Maybe later," Kate replied. "I promised Alexis I'd pick up dinner and it's probably gotten cold sitting on the counter."

"Unlikely," Castle wrote with a flourish. "She probably has it set up as a feast with the good silver by now."

"The good chopsticks, anyway," Kate corrected,"we're having Thai."

Castle grinned.

"I think you're feeling better," Kate opined, jumping at the sudden emanation of a roar, until she realized it came from Castle's phone. "That better not mean Linus has returned," she warned.

A look of mock hurt covered Castle's face. "I promised he's gone and he's gone," he wrote. "That was just the master of the den being hungry."

"All right denmaster, I'm going to feed you, but if you do that again I'm going to spill your whole scheme to Alexis," Kate warned again. "Come on."

Kate had accumulated several days of Temptation Lane while engaged in casework and stretched out with Castle after dinner to watch. She was used to him heckling the dialogue and impossible situations and found the silence a bit unnerving - until he pulled out his phone again, producing sound effects at inappropriate places. A loud farting noise in the middle of a tender love scene was the final straw.

"Castle I swear, if you don't stop that I'm going to take it away. Castle slid the phone beneath his body, but her questing fingers pulled it free, tickling him in the process. Kate was a little taken aback by the feeble sounds that substituted for the raucous laughter to which she'd become accustomed. Catching the look in her eyes, Castle grabbed back the phone and produced a hearty belly laugh. Kate couldn't help laughing along, falling against him and curling up against his chest.

Castle shook his head vociferously. "I don't want you to get sick too," he typed into his phone.

Kate snuggled down further. "I'll risk it," she smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Castle's Chords

Chapter 2

"Kate, I want to go to the precinct," Castle wrote the next morning. "The doctor said I could work if I felt like it after the first day of antibiotics."

"Are you sure, Castle?" Kate inquired. "Ryan and Esposito may be able to get in some good licks before you can get them back."

"I'll manage," Castle wrote. "Alexis doesn't have class today and even if she thinks I'm just doing research, she's going to make like a helicopter. I want to work on the case."

"Okay," Kate agreed. "This could be interesting."

"A Castle who can't talk!" Esposito cackled with glee. "man, this is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel."

"I wouldn't be too sure Javi," Ryan cautioned. "Whatever you do, he'll get you back later - or worse - Beckett will."

"Maybe," Esposito conceded, "but this is gonna be fun." Esposito peppered a mute Castle with questions about signing chests at his book party, until a skin-stripping look from Kate gave Esposito a sudden yen for coffee.

"Told ya, bro," Ryan gloated as they prepared brews together.

Kate, with Castle sitting silently beside her in the interrogation lounge, spoke with Dorian Becksworth, the widow of the shooting victim. "I really don't understand who would want to kill John," Dorian told Kate, daubing at her eyes with an already over-soaked tissue. Castle handed her a box of dry ones which she accepted gratefully. "He tried to be as good as he could to the employees who worked under him. Of course, what can you do? The wages are so low a lot of the workers are on food stamps and the people above John would never let him schedule people with enough hours to qualify for benefits. He did the best he could, working around the times people had to take care of their kids and so forth, but there was a limit to what he could do."

Castle tapped a pencil against the edge of the table loudly enough that Kate could hear it. She glanced over to see that he had written "Lexis?" on a pad.

Kate nodded. "Mrs. Becksworth, do you know anyone who owns a Lexis/"

Dorian thought for a moment. I think one of John's friends has one, or at least he did. We haven't seen him in a while. Why?"

"There was one at the scene," Kate answered offhandedly. "It may have nothing to do with your husband's shooting, but we have to follow every lead."

"His name is Burt Ringerman," Dorian responded. "he used to own an electronics store, but it went out of business. The merchandise from John's store was cheaper. I don't know what Burt's doing now."

"Do you have contact information for him?" Kate asked.

"That would be on our computer at home," Dorian told her. "I know he was on our Christmas card list. I can email it or text it to you."

"I'd really appreciate that," Kate assured her handing her a card. "We'll get some officers to take you home.

Castle wrote furiously as Dorian left. "Jealous friend loses business, holds big box store responsible and takes it out on still successful friend."

"Sounds like a movie plot, Castle," Kate teased. "But we'll go see Ringerman as soon as we get an address."

After spending some time catching up on paperwork, Kate received a text from Dorian Becksworth. She checked the address in her data base. "Ringerman doesn't live there anymore, she reported to Castle. It was a pretty upscale neighborhood. He probably couldn't afford it. It looks like the post office had a forwarding address, though. He's out on Staten Island."

The house Ringerman was living in on Staten Island was little more than a shack. The neighborhood had been devastated by Hurricane Sandy, but built at the top of a small hill, it had somehow escaped destruction. Most of the houses around it were deserted. "I can see why he could get the place cheap," Castle wrote. "It's like living in a ghost town."

The first thing that Kate noticed about Ringerman was that didn't fit the description of the shooter. His skin had the pale cast of someone who spent most, if not all, of his time indoors. The second thing she noticed was that he was not a happy person. He grumbled at letting her and Castle through the door and was impatient with questions about John Becksworth.

"I haven't seen John in almost a year," he complained bitterly. "When your luck turns, the rats leave the sinking ship. I don't think John even wanted to look at me. He didn't want to be reminded of what his masters do to the little guy."

"Mr. Ringerman," Kate asked, "do you own a Lexis?"

"I _owned_ a Lexis," Ringerman replied angrily. "I had to sell it, along with pretty much every other damn thing I owned. Right now, what you see is what you get except that I don't even own this hovel. It's a rental. The people who own it wanted no part of living in a disaster zone."

"Mr. Ringerman, can you tell us who you sold the car to?" Kate questioned.

"Yeah," Ringerman answered, "some jerk I found on Craig's list. Jackass didn't even re-register the thing. I keep getting notices about parking tickets."

"You have an address?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Ringerman answered. "I was gonna call him again and tell him to get his ass to the DMV."

"Kate," Castle wrote when they returned to the car, "why did you even bother with all that. The witnesses saw black or brown."

"Castle," I'm surprised at you!" Kate lectured. "You should know that eyewitness testimony is the least reliable kind of evidence there is. People saw someone in a hoodie with a gun, their minds might have filled in a person of color. Ringerman knew the victim and he obviously had a grudge. We need to check it out."

Drake Sheldon lived in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Originally a conglomeration of decaying tenements that could be bought or rented without millionaire status, the buildings had been refaced and remodeled. Stores moved in and the city built several pocket parks. It was just the place for an up and comer to own a luxury car, albeit a used one. "The car was stolen yesterday," Drake answered in response to Kate's query.

"Did you report it?" Kate asked.

Drake looked down guiltily. "I couldn't. There was a lot of time left on the plates so I didn't register it in my name. It was stupid. Now the car's gone and I'm not the owner of record. I can't even get a payout on the insurance. I was paying the premiums for the guy who owned it and supposedly driving under his permission, but he's a shit, screaming his head off over a couple of parking tickets even though I gave him the money to pay them. I called him and told him it was stolen but I doubt that I'll ever see a dime from that car."

"Funny Ringerman never mentioned anything about a stolen car," Castle wrote as he and Kate left Sheldon's apartment.

"Yeah," Kate agreed. "He might have been looking to make a few bucks off insurance fraud. Maybe he thought Sheldon wouldn't tell us what happened because it was a shady transaction.'

"Or maybe he just thought we wouldn't believe Sheldon," Castle wrote. "There's no paper trail. You gonna bring him in?"

Kate shook her head. "It's getting late. I'll send some unis for him tomorrow. Let him relax and think he got away with it for a while. Maybe we can throw him off balance."

Castle nodded and wrote, "Makes sense. What do you want to do tonight?"

A sneaky smile came over Kate's face. "Nebula Nine. You won't be able to heckle and so help me Castle, if you try to make noises with that phone, I'm going to put it through the disposal."

Castle stuck out his lower lip and walked despondently to the car. As Kate drove, he slumped in his seat staring out the window. "Oh Castle," Kate encouraged, "don't look so upset. I can do a little cosplay."

Castle grabbed his pad and wrote in giant letters,"NO MASK!"

Kate brushed her fingertips lightly over his thigh. "For tonight, strictly Lieutenant Chloe."

Castle settled back in his seat to enjoy the ride.


	3. Chapter 3

Castle's Chords

Chapter 3

Being brought to the 12th precinct was an unpleasant surprise for Burt Ringerman. Seeing Kate and Castle again was an even more unpleasant surprise. Kate stared across the table. "You lied to us Mr. Ringerman. You knew the Lexis was stolen and you never said a word. Now why was that?"

"I reported it stolen for that putz Sheldon," Ringerman protested. "Otherwise the insurance company wouldn't have touched it. I can't help it if the NYPD doesn't keep track."

"We saw your report," Kate challenged. "It was filed after we talked to you and after we talked to Drake Sheldon. You were just covering your butt."

"I'm not answering no more questions," Ringerman declared sullenly. "I want a lawyer."

"Fine," Kate told him, getting up from the table. "Maybe Legal Aide can get someone in sometime today." Castle followed her out of the room.

"Yo Beckett," Esposito called, "we got another lead. We found a report filed by John Becksworth about an employee he caught stealing, a guy named Brock Morland. Morland got fired and arrested, but he's out now."

Kate regarded the picture in the file Esposito handed her. The mugshot showed an angry looking African American. Although un-hooded for the picture, it was clear that he was wearing a sweatshirt. "Have him brought in," she ordered. "Castle, this may take a while, you might want to go home. You look beat," she said turning to Castle who had sunk wearily into his usual chair at the side of her desk.

"I might take you up on that," Castle wrote. "but call me if anything exciting happens."

Alexis met Castle at the door her eyes blazing. "Dad! Do you think I'm stupid?"

Castle looked at her in confusion, shaking his head while he pulled out his pad. "No, Alexis. Course not. Probably smartest person I know."

"Then why the story about researching the book? Alexis demanded.

"What do you mean?" Castle penned guiltily.

Alexis held up a pharmacy bag. "Antibiotics!" she shouted. "You don't take antibiotics for a research project."

Castle closed his eyes for a moment before writing again. "This reaction is exactly why I didn't tell you. Tired. Enough!"

Castle retreated to his bedroom, closing the door tightly behind him. Not even pausing to take off his shoes, he flopped on the bed. His next awareness was of Kate's voice above him. "How are you Castle? You didn't answer the phone and Alexis told me, very hostilely, that you were resting." She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. "I think your fever's back."

Castle reached for the pad he laid on the night table before lying down. "The doctor said it might come and go for a while."

Kate pulled his shoes off. "I think I've calmed Alexis down a little. Go back to sleep."

Castle kept his pad. "Morland?"

"We couldn't find him. The forwarding address he gave the was phony. Ryan and Esposito are talking to his family and associates trying to trace his whereabouts."

"Ringerman?" Castle queried further.

"Still in holding," Kate replied, "but he'll probably get sprung, especially since there's a suspect that actually fits the description. There's nothing else to work on right now."

Castle nodded and put down the pad. Kate smoothed back his hair and kissed the top of his head. "I'll be in later to check on you."

Castle picked the pad up again and looked at Kate with an appeal in his eyes. "STAY!"

Kicking off her own shoes she lay beside him, head against his shoulder. They drifted off together.

Castle opened his eyes to find an empty space beside him. He wandered into the kitchen to find Kate fixing a late supper. "Hungry?" she asked as Castle approached.

He pointed to the food and shook his head, then pointing to her, nuzzled her neck.

I'll feed one need at a time, Castle," she teased. "I'm starved. You want to keep me company?"

Castle nodded.

"I've been thinking about the case," Kate explained as she turned an omelet onto her plate and put some grapes from the bowl on the counter beside it. "Something is off. I still think the car is involved somehow."

Castle raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"I think there may be something in the video of the parking lot of the big box store or the traffic cams. I want Ryan to take another look."

Castle shook his head, pointing to himself.

"You want to look at the footage?" Kate asked.

Castle pointed to his throat and gave an exaggerated shrug.

"I think you're trying to tell me that you don't need to talk to look at video," Kate guessed.

Castle pointedly touched his nose.

"Okay, Castle," Kate agreed, enjoying, yet uncomfortable with the silence. "You can check it out at the precinct in the morning if you're up to it, or I can have it emailed to you."

Castle returned to his office to pick up a pad. "I want to go in. I owe Espo."

Kate rolled her eyes and smiled.

* * *

><p>Castle bent over a computer screen at the 12th an excited look on his face. "What's happenin', Castle," Esposito taunted, "lack of voice giving you super sight?"<p>

Castle shook his head with a smirk, tapped the screen and texted Kate, who was several desks down the bullpen. Kate arrived to look over his shoulder as he pointed to an arm belonging to a hooded man, sticking out of the window of a large Lexis. The arm was brown except for a jagged smear of white. "Castle, what the heck?" Beckett exclaimed.

Castle opened a tab and typed "make-up."

Kate wrapped her arms around Castle's neck and planted a kiss on his temple. "You found it Castle! I'll get a warrant to search Ringerman and Sheldon's places and see what we find."

"There's more," Castle typed, switching to a video from another camera. A partial license plate was visible.

"L,e,c," Kate read. "That's a match to Ringerman's plate, 'Lec King.' Looks like Morland may have nothing to do with this."

Castle grinned triumphantly at Esposito.

"Yeah, we'll see what the search turns up, bro," Esposito told him, not yet willing to let Castle claim victory.

"Make it interesting?" Castle typed and reached into his pocket for a hundred dollar bill.

"Guys," Kate warned, "you don't want Gates seeing you betting on cases." Kate looked toward the firmly closed door of Captain Gates' office. "I'm in," she whispered conspiratorially."


	4. Chapter 4

Castle's Chords

Chapter 4

There was no way that Castle was missing the search of Ringerman's house, and Kate didn't have to look very hard before she found brown face and body make-up. She also found a receipt for a parking lot. Beckett dispatched a uniformed unit which soon uncovered the "stolen" Lexis.

Kate and Castle again faced Ringerman in interrogation, except that this time Ringerman was accompanied by an attorney. The attorney, Marvin Perkins, was young and appeared nervous. Kate guessed that he had passed the bar no more than a year before. "Look," Kate told the young man,"we have your client on grand theft and fraud at the very least, and we've found the evidence that he killed John Becksworth. He's going to go away for the rest of his life in the worst possible place unless we convince the D.A. otherwise. His best hope is to cooperate with us."

Marvin pulled at his collar. "You don't have to say anything," he advised his client.

"You know," Kate told Ringerman drawing a look of slightly displeased surprise from Castle, "you're not actually a bad looking man. There are some guys upstate who would just love a man like you. Whatever happens, you'll never be lonely."

Ringerman looked at his lawyer expectantly, but Marvin shrugged.

Ringerman's pupils widened as fear began to replace defiance. "I don't want to be no one's bitch," he whispered loudly to Marvin.

"It's up to you," Marvin conceded, leaning away from his client.

"Because of the store that jerkoff Becksworth worked for, I lost everything," Ringerman explained. "John was supposed to be my friend, but every day he was taking food out of my mouth. First it was my business, then it was my home. When I couldn't even drive a decent car anymore, but I was still getting the parking tickets - f—ing parking tickets without a car - it was the last straw. I snapped."

"You snapped, Mr Ringerman?" Kate repeated. "You made yourself up before you went on your shooting spree. That's not an act of passion, that's cold premeditated murder, and when the D.A. is finished, I'm sure the jury will see it that way too, unless there's something else.

Ringerman looked helplessly at Marvin. "I need to confer with my clent," the young attorney said.

Kate and Castle left Ringerman and Marvin alone as L.T. guarded the door. "Kate, I know you've got the guy," Castle wrote on his pad, "but something else happened here. I know you'll get justice for Becksworth and his wife, but I need to know the whole story. I need to look more into Ringerman's story."

"Well you can have at it Castle," Kate told him, "but I need to go write up my report."

Castle signed on to his personal research accounts and began the search for Ringerman references. Unfortunately, there were many, including the works of a political writer. Finally he stumbled onto an announcement with a picture. "And that's why," he thought to himself, emailing his finding to Kate.

Castle sat by Kate's desk as she looked at what he sent. "I guess this explains the make-up she said, staring at a picture of Ringerman's ex-wife Brenda marrying a handsome African American named Nick Bradley. Ringerman thought he lost his life to Becksworth and his wife to Bradley."

* * *

><p>Castle and Kate celebrated over Chateaubriand at Le Cirque. "You know Castle, dinner's going to cost more than we'll get off Esposito for the bet," Kate surmised as the richness of the meat warmed her tongue.<p>

"It's not about money, it's about satisfaction," Castle whispered softly, his voice gradually returning. "I wasn't even going to ask him about it until payday. I think he just bought a little bling for Lanie. His money's probably a bit tight right now."

"Good thing Espo couldn't pull Ryan into the bet," Kate mused "he needs every cent right now."

"He is a lot more careful now that he's a father," Castle agreed. "I've always felt blessed that I've been able to provide well for Alexis without agonizing about it. Soon we may be thinking about another little mouth to feed."

Kate rubbed her fingertips over her engagement ring, pondering the addition of a matching band. "One step at a time Castle. But speaking of Alexis, she seems to be behaving better now that you're getting well."

"I was a little short with her about it," Castle confessed. "She's pulled back, but I don't think she's over what happened, yet."

"None of us are," Castle," Kate asserted, "but we are getting on with our lives."

"I'll make sure Alexis doesn't get a chance to hover," Castle agreed. "No cooking, no dish washing, no bed making, but Kate, _are_ we getting on with our lives?"

"What do you mean, Castle?" Kate asked.

"Kate you know what I mean," Castle told her. "It's been about a month and we haven't worked through anything. We didn't talk about much of anything, even when I could. We've just been pretending things are normal, but we don't know what we're going to do or when. Kate do you still love me? I'm not talking about the bedroom, I mean the love me when I'm old and gray kind of love."

Kate reached up to stroke his face. "Oh Castle, when you're gray, when you're white. I can't imagine being without you. I'd just like us to get to the point where thinking about what happened doesn't affect the way we live our lives anymore."

"And when do you think we'll be there?" Castle questioned.

"Castle, I don't know," Kate admitted, "but at least as much as you do, I want it to be soon, very soon."

Castle kissed her palms and took both of her hands in his. "Then I guess I'll just have to accept that, for now."

Kate stared into the deep blue depths of his eyes. "Castle, we'll get there. I promise." Not caring about what might appear on Page Six in the morning, Kate brought her lips to his.

Finis

A/N As I'm writing, the wedding episode starts in about three hours, even though I won't post until tomorrow morning so that I have a decent interval before editing. I can't wait to bring Johanna's ghost to the wedding in my next story. Kudos to Chicago O'Hare airport for having outlets I could plug the charger for my laptop into, so I could keep up with my writing while in transit. Love, Sally.


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